Help! I’ve lost my phone

Having your mobile phone vanish can be terrifying. There goes your means of communicating, your calendar, your alarm clock, that cool driving game you downloaded the other day… the whole lot.

But don't worry - it needn't be lost forever. And even if it is,
it's not the end of the world. Here's what you need to do next.

1. Try and find it

All right, yes, you've already tried to find it. But here's the
deal: your phone may not be irretrievable. Hopefully, it's just
misplaced on the bus, at a pal's house or even just between the
sofa cushions. Start by giving your phone a call to find out where
it is.

No luck? Time for something more technical.

For a lost Android phone

Android Device Manager is, thankfully, installed on all Android devices and turned on by
default - and it's designed for exactly this situation.

Find a web browser, and do a Google search for 'where is my
phone.' Provided you're signed into the same Google account on both
the browser and your missing phone, a map should come up tracking
your phone's location. There will also be a 'ring' button: click
this, and Google will override your current sound settings, making
the phone ring with an obnoxious-sounding ringtone on full
volume.

Alternatively, find a friend with Android, and log onto Android
Device Manager on their phone. You can track your device,
make it ring, and wipe its data if the situation looks drastic.

For a lost iPhone

For iPhones that have gone astray, log
onto your iCloud account and choose the Find My iPhone option. You
should be able to see your phone's location on a map, and make it
ring.

If things look a bit hopeless, you can activate Lost Mode.
This'll lock your device with a password and display a message of
your choice - so you could set it to show your contact details and
pray that a kind soul gets back to you, or leave a 'screw you!'
message to the thief if you're so inclined. It suspends Apple Pay
too, so nobody can make payments from your credit or debit cards.
There's also the option to remotely erase all your data.

For a lost Windows Phone

Windows Phones have a similar
security function called Find My Phone. Log into your Microsoft
account online, select your missing phone from the list of devices,
and click on 'Find My Phone.' A map should come up with your
phone's location logged on it. From there you can make your phone
ring, lock the screen with a message, and erase your data if you
need to.

Things to remember

If you manage to track your phone to somewhere you haven't been
to lately, it's likely that someone has it - either a helpful
person who picked it up or a nasty thief. So stay safe! Don't ever
go there alone, and don't hesitate to ask local authorities for
advice.

Bear in mind that phone tracking apps, including Find My iPhone
and Android Device Manager, will only work if your phone is
switched on, and usually only when it's connected to the internet.
However, anything you change will take effect the second your phone
is online.

Only erase your phone's data as a last resort, if you're sure
you won't get it back - once you've done so, you'll be logged out
and won't be able to track the phone any more.

Change your passwords! When an account is logged in on your
phone, you risk it getting compromised.

2. Contact your network provider

Still not found it? Yikes. The next step is to make sure you
don't get charged for calls, texts, and data from your missing
phone.

Contact your network, and they'll be able to block your SIM so
no calls or texts can be charged to it. Some can even block the
IMEI, a code unique to your handset itself, so no one else will be
able to use it even with a different SIM.

A lot of networks have caps - usually of £100 - so you won't
have to pay any more than that if a thief starts making
long-distance calls on your lost phone. However, you'll need to
make sure you report it to the network within 24 hours of it going
missing.

Some networks even have ways of tracking, locking, and erasing
data remotely on your phone - EE has Clone
Phone, for instance, and Vodafone has Vodafone Secure Net -
and if you have insurance too, your mobile can likely be replaced.
Of course, they'll also need proof that you reported it to the
police as lost or stolen. So our third step is…

3. Report it to the local police

If your phone has absolutely, definitely, without a doubt been
stolen by a thief, do this as soon as you can - before you even
contact your network. You may be able file the report over the
phone, though some will need you to come in to the station. And as
well as letting you make a report, the police will be able to give
advice on what to do next.

4. Get a new phone

Sometimes the worst happens, and your phone is indeed gone for
good… which really, really sucks. So once you've mourned the loss
of your loyal handset, it's time to look into getting a new
one.

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.